Kitsune
Legends say that a fox who has grown wise in its old age becomes a Kitsune. This is not entirely true, although the race did begin as a humble, normal fox. Blessed by a goddess for its unusual display of bravery in the face of danger, it was elevated to a mystical creature, with much magical power over illusions and charms, and a connection to nature and the plane of air. This new creature, Kitsune, used his power to help progress nature and as a teacher of hard lessons to those who would harm the natural order. When his mate was on her deathbed, he made a plea to the goddess of nature, and his wife was re-born as a Kitsune as well, and the race has prospered ever since. Kitsune are a mystical race of proud fox people. They are wise, discerning, and patient. They are most often neutral in alignment, with a few on either end of the scale, but all have neutral leanings. They are most often peaceful first, but do not suffer fools or their ignorance. They see themselves as nature’s chosen, and demand respect from all others. Disrespect is excused once, then punished. There are stories of generations of a man’s children afflicted with a Kitsune’s tricks and pranks because of a misstep. There are ways around this, though because they are scholars and artists at heart, and can be placated with an offer of poetry or a song or dance or even a good story, as they love arts of expression. Such an offer often makes them think twice about any judgements made about the offender as well, re-opening the door for diplomacy and wisdom. To truly anger or provoke a Kitsune to violence is folly to all but the most powerful of beings. Kitsune are natural casters and warriors, not to mention clan oriented and extremely long lived. They will use their arcane mark spell to mark someone who has seriously offended them, easily identifying them for others. They will wait for the perfect moment to exact revenge, even if this takes centuries. If the offended Kitsune dies, his entire clan will usually take up his cause for revenge, until restitution is met. Kitsune resemble an anthropomorphic fox, often being called “were-foxes”, although they are not lycanthropes. They are the same color as normal foxes, although those that are good can have almost blonde fur, while evil ones can be black as night. They are born the size of normal foxes, and as they gain wisdom and in power as well, measured by the number of tails they have, they increase in size. The epitome of this is the high-Kitsune, having nine tails. When they reach nine tails, their fur turns silver, and their eyes become solid black orbs. High-Kitsune serve as the clan leaders and wise ones of the race. There is only ever one Kitsune at any one time with more than nine tails, called “The Inari” and is the emperor or empress and spiritual leader of the Kitsune. They are given deference and respected like royalty, although they are not necessarily obeyed like a normal emperor or empress. They are conferred with concerning matters important to the race as a whole, but have little sway on a day-to-day basis, and edicts are seen as advice. When the existing Inari dies, a learned high Kitsune will sprout a tenth tail and become Inari to take its place. This choice seems to be random, and is believed to be a choice made by the goddess of nature herself. (NOTE: Inari Kitsune are essentially nine-tailed Kitsune with an extra tail, have the half-celestial template added and have divine rank 0.) Like their ancestors, Kitsune are ever the tricksters, and enjoy employing their natural illusion and enchantment abilities at the expense of other beings. Most Kitsune take this to the next level and compete amongst each other to see who can rile up a being the most with the smallest spell available. They are known for this, and most bouts of bad luck are blamed on Kitsune as a result. This does not bother the Kitsune at all, and is often encouraged by the mystic creatures. Although playful, they do have a mean streak, usually reserved for those that belittle those of a lower status, tyrants, or those who harass clerics or devout servants of the gods with out provocation. They take it upon themselves to teach these folks a valuable lesson in an effort to change their ways in the most humiliating or painful way possible, but in the case of an evil Kitsune, the lessons are rarely survived. All of this having been said, Kitsune do get along with most other nature-revering races, like halflings and gnomes and often share territory with elves. Good Kitsune sometimes watch over and protect small farming villages of humans, who often respect and revere their protector. Villages such as these often outlaw the hunting of foxes.